Qatar blockade and Saudi Arabia: Could there be a power shift in Doha?

When it erupted in June 2017, the “Qatar crisis” drew immediate speculation that the emirate’s enemies, who accuse it of sponsoring terrorism and destabilising the region, were preparing for some sort of military action.

After all, since the inconclusive resolution to an earlier dispute with Qatar in 2014, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been determined to take a bolder and more assertive stance, bloodily intervening in Yemen and, according to recently leaked emails purportedly sent by the UAE’s ambassador in Washington, at one point even coming “pretty close to doing something in Qatar”.

Whereas Barack Obama was highly unlikely to ever support such action against Doha, later hinting that he would no longer reflexively side with Saudi Arabia in its squabbles, Donald Trump’s administration seemed at first to re-open the door to more drastic measures.

Trump pointedly chose Saudi Arabia for his first official overseas visit, on which he signed several big-ticket arms deals. And just hours after Riyadh severed relations with Doha, he tweeted that, when it comes to terrorism funding, “all reference was pointing to Qatar” and that “perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism”.

But the White House was soon apprised of the full extent of the US’s military facilities in Qatar, including the difficult-to-move forward headquarters of US Central Command (CENTCOM), and the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, hurriedly attempted to strike a more conciliatory tone. For a moment, it seemed any immediate danger to Doha had subsided. Indeed, as recently reported, Trump had apparently given an emphatic “no” to any military action, preferring to leave the quarrelling Gulf states to their own devices.

Nonetheless, even as the days dragged into weeks and then months, it seemed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with their allies in the “Anti-Terror Quartet”, Bahrain and Egypt, were gaining the upper hand.
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'We'll have it solved': Donald Trump offers to mediate in Qatar crisis

United States President Donald Trump has hailed the efforts made by the leaders of Kuwait to mediate in solving the crisis of Qatar and its Arab neighbours, however, Trump said a deal would be "worked out very quickly," if he became personally involved.

"Kuwait has been really the leader of getting it solved, and we appreciate that very much. But I do believe that we'll solve it. If we don't solve it, I will be a mediator right here in the White House. We'll come together. Very quickly, I think, we'll have something solved," Trump said, at a White House news conference.

"While I do appreciate and respect the mediation, I would be willing to be the mediator. I was telling the Emir before that if I can help between the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia," he added.

Trump said all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council are "essential partners" with the U.S. in efforts to crack down on extremism, including the fight against Islamic State group.

"We will be most successful with a united GCC," he said.

"We will send a strong message to both terrorist organisations and regional aggressors that they cannot win."
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Qatar crisis: Arab states, US to work on better coordination, says Egypt

Foreign ministers from the four Arab states that have cut ties with Qatar will hold talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Egypt said.

Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry has been invited by his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir to the talks in Jeddah, the foreign ministry in Cairo said on Tuesday.

"The meeting reflects the four countries' desire to enhance coordination and underscore their unity on ways to deal with Qatar in the future," the ministry said.

In June, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain announced the severing of all diplomatic ties with Qatar over allegations the emirate bankrolled Islamist extremists and had close ties with Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran.

Tillerson visited Qatar today for talks on the Gulf diplomatic crisis, after a stop in mediator Kuwait the previous day.

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Why some Arab countries want to shutter Al Jazeera

I’ve been studying and writing about Al Jazeera since its early years, sometimes with concern, sometimes with appreciation. My 2008 book “The Al Jazeera Effect” explored the political significance of regional satellite television news networks in the Arab world and beyond.

Although the politics of Al Jazeera remain controversial, I believe shutting down any news organization weakens the viability of a free press – particularly in a region where democracy has so much difficulty gaining traction.

A critical eye

When Al Jazeera launched in 1996, it shook the Arab media landscape.

At the time, stodgy, government-controlled television newscasts were the norm. They featured uncontroversial reporting with low production standards. Suddenly, there was a channel that offered relatively uncensored coverage of the region’s politics with the sleek look of Western news programs like those on BBC and CNN.

Most importantly, when there was a big story within the Arab World – such as the Second Intifada, the 2000 Palestinian uprising against Israel – Arab audiences no longer had to turn to Western broadcasters to get analysis about what was happening. Instead, they saw Arab reporters covering the news with a pro-Arab slant. Al Jazeera English, which was founded in 2006, prides itself on covering more stories and perspectives from the “Global South” than other news organizations.

More broadly, the channel became controversial because of its coverage of the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The George W. Bush administration considered its coverage inflammatory for highlighting civilian casualties in those conflicts, with government officials charging that Al Jazeera was stirring up opposition to U.S. efforts in the region.

Yet Al Jazeera’s free-wheeling, pan-Arab approach has also been a source of ire for Middle Eastern rulers who prefer to control the news that reaches their citizens. Al Jazeera has reported critically about these governments, especially those that are now acting against Qatar. Its talk shows have debated topics such as religion and women’s issues in ways that have redefined the concept of “free speech” in the Arab world.

There are, however, limits to Al Jazeera’s journalistic doggedness. Despite Al Jazeera’s eagerness to question the ruling classes of most Arab countries, the Qatari royal family isn’t covered with the same level of scrutiny. Rather, the channel has been seen as a de facto part of Qatar’s foreign policy apparatus.
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